Dispenser with removable container and bracket mounted pump



J. E. KING July 23, 1968 DISPENSER WITH REMOVABLE CONTAINER AND BRACKET MOUNTED PUMP 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 1, 1967 INVENTOR. JOHN 5'. KING WWW; A

ATTORNEY July 23, 1968 J. E. KING 3,393,833

DISPENSER WITH REMOVABLE CONTAINER AND BRACKET MOUNTED PUMP Filed May 1, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR.

L JOHN E. KING 52 60 I 53 @imfl/y/yw A T TOENEY United States Patent 3,393,833 DISPENSER WITH REMOVABLE CONTAINER AND BRACKET MOUNTED PUMP John E. King, South Bend, Ind., assignor to The Bendix Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 1, 1967, Ser. No. 635,004 9 Claims. (Cl. 22229) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dispensing mechanism having a fixed piston supported by a pumping means which upon drawing a dispensable media from a container inverted over a piston creates a pressure diiferential between the interior of the container and the surrounding atmosphere toforce the container to travel down over the piston thereby indicating the amount of material remaining in the container and keeping the material available to an inlet for the pumping means.

Summary Dispensing devices of the type disclosed by this invention employed many moving parts in order to force a dispensable medium from a container. These devices have generally taken the form of mechanically actuated or spring actuated piston for dispensing, or priming and supplying a pumping chamber. These devices have a serious drawback in that they lack .a simple, effective means of indicating the amount of dispensible media remaining in the container. Many of these devices require considerable time to remove empty containers and to reload the dispenser with a full container. With todays value on human labor these devices are impractical.

This invention not only eliminates the necessity of moving parts such as expendable follower plates, cumbersome springs and mechanically actuated pistons, but eliminates the other problems of known prior art dispensers and provides means to utilize thecontainer in which the medium is shipped as part of the dispenser.

It is a more particular object of this invention to provide a dispenser having a pumping means which not only dispense a medium, but in withdrawing it from a container recharges the pumping chamber and draws the container to a position to maintain the medium available to the pumping chamber inlet.

A further more detailed object is to provide a dispenser with valves to prevent pump blockage and controlled discharge volume.

A still further object is to provide a vent valve means to permit ready container replacement without destroying the container to overcome vacuum herein when removing.

An additional object is to provide a dispenser with indicating means to readily provide information on the quantity of medium available for dispensing in order to permit scheduling resupply in time to prevent running out.

Drawing description FIGURE 1 is an isometric sectional view of a container and dispensing means assembled in accordance with the principles of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of the pumping means of this invention and the follower plate of the dispensing means; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged partial cross sectional view of the follower plate showing the valve therein open to permit container removal.

Detailed description With more particular reference to the drawings and as seen in FIGURE 1, a container 10 containing a dispensable medium, for example, a waterless hand cleaner, has its top removed and is placed over a fixed piston 12 until the soap fills a pump inlet chamber 14, and is evenly distributed over the piston covering valve disc 16 in the piston 12.

The piston 12 is fixed to a pump housing 18 as by retaining rings 20 and 22 (see FIGURE 2), and housing 18 is attached to a mounting bracket 24, as by nuts 26 and 28, as seen in FIGURE 2, which are on either side of a horizontal portion or leg 30 of the bracket 24. The bracket is formed with a vertical portion or leg 32 having holes for wall mounting screws and a leg 32b with legends, .as at 34, 36, 38 and 40, to indicate the quantity of soap in the container and the need to replace the container. These legends may be placed on leg 32, if desired.

A cap 42 is threaded to the pump housing closing the housing and providing a bearing support for a tubular member 44 for manually operating a pump piston 46 (see FIGURE 2). To this tube a conically shaped hand piece 48 is attached for actuating the pumping mechamsm.

As seen more particularly in FIGURE 2, the fixed piston 12 is constructed by riveting sheets 50 and 52 together, as by rivets 54, with a seal 56 compressed therebetween. Seal 56 is sized to extend beyond sheets 50 and 52 to engage the inner walls of container 10. Sheet 50 is slightly larger in diameter than sheet 52 to support seal 56 and thereby prevent inward collapse of the seal which would permit atmospheric air from passing around the seal into the container.

Sheets 50 and 52 are provided with openings 58 and 60 on either side of seal 56 which is slit along lines 61 and 62 (see FIGURE 1). Sheet 52 is provided with crimped depressions 64 for radially locating a skirt 66 between a sheet 68, similarly crimped, as at 70, to provide rigidity to the piston 12 and to hold the container erect.

Pum-p housing is generally of tubular construction to provide the inlet chamber 14, an inlet valve chamber 72 separated from chamber 14 by a passage 74 leading to a valve seat 76, and a pumping chamber 78. Housing 18 is threaded externally for receipt of nuts 26 and 28, as well as cap 42, and internally for mating of an annular piece may be threaded to housing 18 or supported thereagainst by a spring 86 to provide a retaining surface for a spring 82 holding ball 84 on seat 76. The spring 86 is compressed between a shoulder 88 or a flange of the piece 80 (not shown) at the upper end of chamber 78 and the pump piston 46. The spring 86 is installed preloaded to bias piston 46 against cap 42. Preferably the sidewalls of chamber 78 of housing 18 are smoothly finished to minimize friction caused by reciprocation of piston 46.

Piston 46 is provided with an O-ring seal 90 and is formed to have a central passage 92 opening to an internal discharge chamber 94 of the piston 46. Upon assembly of tube 44 to piston 46 as by threading it therewithin, a spring 98 is placed on the tube and a ball 100 on the spring to bias the ball on seat 102 about the opening of passage 92 to discharge chamber 94.

The completion of the pump assembly involves attaching the hand piece 48 to tube 44, as by a set screw 104, to a position to provide the desired pumping stroke to provide the desired discharge of media and, if desired, the threading of a discharge nozzle 106 to tube 44 in the hand piece 48.

Operation As indicated above, container 10 is, after removal of its top, pressed over piston 12, to fill inlet chamber 14,

3 prime pump chamber 78 and cover seal 56 at the opening 58.

To dispense the medium one places the palm of his hand against hand piece 48 and forces piston 46 inwardly to force the medium in chamber 78 past discharge valve 100 which is raised off seat 102 by compressing the medium in chamber 78 into a localized area of the palm of the hand.

Upon release of pressure by ones palm, piston 46 is returned by spring 86 to dispense the soap and draw a vacuum in chamber 78. This pulls inlet valve 84 off seat 76 to pull more of the medium or soap into chamber 78 from above the follower plate 12.

This creates a void in the container and atmospheric pressure externally of container forces the container down further around the follower plate eliminating the void over piston 12. The medium on top of seal 56 at opening 58 of sheet 50 keeps atmosphere from flexing the pie-shaped sections 56a and 56b of this valve portion of seal 56 to register opening 60 with the interior of the container above piston 12.

As container 10 moves down on piston 12 its edge 108 cooperates with legends 38, 36 and 34 of leg 32b to indicate the amount of medium within the container between its end wall 110 and piston 12. When wall 110 rests on piston 12 the legend 40 is visible along the surface 112 and replacement of container 10 is undertaken.

In replacing container 10 one starts pulling it up from piston 12. This lifts any medium on seal 56 so that the pie section 56a and 5611 can lift to communicate opening 60 to opening 58, as seen in FIGURE 3. Upon equalization of pressure internally and externally of container 10 it can be readily replaced. In order to facilitate access of atmospheric pressure between sheets 52 and 68, the latter may be drilled, as at 114.

Having described an operative construction embodying my invention I desire to set forth the intended patent coverage by the following claims.

I claim:

1. Dispenser apparatus comprising:

a bracket having a mounting leg and a supporting leg plus indicating means;

a pump device having a housing afiixed in an upright position to said supporting leg, a valved inlet port, a reciprocating plunger containing a valved discharge port and a pump control with an integral discharge nozzle;

a piston assembly fixed to said pump housing and having passage means communicated to said pump inlet; and

a container operatively placed over said piston means with a dispensable medium contained between said container and said piston assembly such that pumping of the medium from said container creates a void within the container which is replaced by the automatic movement of said container to fill the void.

2. Dispenser apparatus according to claim 1 and further comprising check valve means operatively exposed to the medium to prevent atmospheric air from entering the void so long as said container is being moved to decrease the volume between it and said piston and operable in removing said container to prevent pressure interference with removal of the container.

3. Dispenser apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said check valve is a resilient member that is slit and placed between an upper plate and a lower plate forming said piston which upper and lower plate have respectively large and small openings whereby said check valve has a larger area exposed to said medium than that exposed to atmosphere.

4. Dispenser apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said mounting leg lies closely adjacent to said container as assembled over said piston and said indicating means is provided by spaced legends and marks registering with the external edges of said container to visibly provide awareness of the amount of the medium in said container between it and the piston.

5. Dispenser apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said valved inlet port and said valved discharge port comprise oppositely acting valve means on opposite ends of a pumping chamber in which said plunger is operable by manual control of said discharge nozzle.

6. Dispenser apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said disccharge nozzle is provided with an adjustable hand piece to control the stroking of the plunger and to localize the dispensed medium.

7. Dispenser apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said plunger is operatively biased by a spring within said pumping chamber.

8. Dispenser apparatus comprising:

a mounting bracket having a vertical means provided with indicating means, and a horizontal means;

a pump means afiixed to said horizontal means including a manually operable discharge means projecting below said horizontal means;

a fixed piston held in place by a portion of said pump means, said piston having an atmospheric check valve vent therethrough, said piston also having an opening communicated with the inlet port of said pump means;

a container operatively fitted over said piston, said container containing a medium to be dispensed which medium maintains said check valve in the closed position preventing air flow from the bottom of said piston to the top of same.

9. Dispenser apparatus comprising:

a mounting bracket;

a pump means affixed to said mounting bracket,

said pump means including a manually operable discharge means projecting below said mounting bracket;

a fixed piston afiixed to said mounting bracket, said piston having check valve means therein in a passage therethrough, said piston having an opening therethrough with which an inlet port of said pump means is communicated;

a container operatively fitted over said piston, said container having a medium therewithin to be dispensed by said pump means, which medium is exposed to said check valve to normally maintain a force on said check valve to prevent fluid flow into said container via the passage in said piston until said medium is removed from exposure with said check valve as by removing said container from said piston.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 886,596 5/1908 Gorman 222-309 1,679,849 8/1928 Bell 222-326 X 2,622,539 12/ 1952 Martin 222-383 X 2,818,998 1/1958 Jones 222-185 X 2,829,804 4/1958 Muench et al. 222- X 2,866,579 12/1958 Roozee 222-327 X SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner. 

